This invention relates to ball gloves, and, more particularly, to a web for a ball glove such as a baseball glove which is flexible and extensible without a break-in period.
Baseball gloves conventionally include a web which extends between the thumb and forefinger of the glove. Most webs are firm and unyielding when new and do not form a natural pocket for the baseball. A new glove therefore requires a break-in period during which the glove is used to catch a ball repeatedly before the glove and the web become flexible enough and yielding enough to form a pocket for the ball when the ball is caught.
The invention provides a web which is flexible and extensible enough to form a natural pocket for the ball without a break-in period. The web is formed from sheet material, for example, leather or imitation leather, and a plurality of slits are made in the leather. The slits are preferably arranged in sets around a central or focal portion, the slits of each set being spaced different distances from the focal portion. The sheet material can be reinforced with rows of stitching between the slits of adjacent sets. The slits separate the sheet material into portions which can move with greater independence than a sheet without slits, and these portions flex and extend relative to each other when a ball is caught by the web so that the web conforms around the ball and forms a pocket for the ball.